When is FA Cup 5th round draw? Plus ball numbers and why is 5th round midweek?

Not long now until the FA Cup fifth round draw as the final teams to play in the fourth round get their matches underway today and tomorrow.

West Ham are one of the Premier League casualties of the fourth round after being knocked out by West Brom with Burnley being defeated by bottom side Norwich.

Tottenham and Newcastle fates are to be decided by replays after drawing against Southampton and Oxford United, respectively.

Sportsmail will provide you with everything you need to know ahead of the FA Cup fifth round draw including date, time and channel plus ball numbers, replay dates and when the fifth round start and why it has changed?

When is it?

The fifth round draw takes place prior to final FA Cup fourth round clash (before any replays) Arsenal vs Bournemouth on Monday 27th January.

Fourth round replay fixtures so far?

Tuesday, February 4
Wednesday, February 5

When does the FA  Cup fifth round start?

The FA Cup fifth round begins on Wednesday, March 4.

Why does the fifth round start mid-week?

Traditionally the fifth round games have been played over the weekend but EFL chiefs agreed the change last year deciding to scrap replays from the fifth round onwards and move them to mid-week.

The change was made to reduce fixture congestion during a very busy time period which was made worse with six Premier League clubs reaching Champions League and Europa League knockout stages of the tournaments last season.

Any ties that are level after 90 minutes will go to extra time and if necessary penalty shootout to determine the winner.

Ball Numbers (plus teams confirmed in bold)

1 Tranmere Rovers or Manchester United

2 Chelsea

3 Southampton or Tottenham Hotspur

4 Sheffield Wednesday

5 AFC Bournemouth of Arsenal

6 Northampton Town or Derby County

7 Leicester City

8 Sheffield United

9 Reading or Cardiff City

10 West Bromwich Albion

11 Norwich City

12 Coventry City or Birmingham City

13 Manchester City or Fulham

14 Newcastle United or Oxford United

15 Portsmouth

16 Shrewsbury Town or Liverpool

FA Cup Key Dates

Fifth Round - Wednesday, March 4

Quarter final - Saturday, March 21

Semi final - Saturday, April 18 and Sunday, April 19

Final - Saturday, May 23